Super Bowl 2015: It’s Not Just About the Spot, Boss.

This week, the flood gates opened with previews of Super Bowl spots.  Some were true trailers, but more often brands released the actual spot that they’ve paid $4 million to air on Sunday. If a movie studio released their whole movie on YouTube, would you be as inclined to go make an event of seeing it? Probably not (unless it was The Interview of course). 

The growing trend signals some shifts in where marketers are – or should be – investing time this year.   

Real-time Content. 

Our culture demands brands be more agile today. As the pace of our world continues to increase, brands must more readily understand and adapt to what’s happening with the people and world around them. Because of that, ‘real time’ has become this year’s ‘big data’.

As the Super Bowl is one of our culture’s marquee events, I think we’ll see more brands try and use this as a platform to show their ability to act in the moment. Oreo and Arby’s both proved that one small, but poignant, move can catapult your brand into the limelight. This year more and more brands are creating social war rooms with core groups of people focused on how to connect the brand to what’s happening during and around the game. I anticipate more and more brands will engage in conversations during the game. Brands will want to show they are paying attention. Brands will look to establish cultural relevance beyond their traditional categories. Many will try, but it will be a select few that are able to strike gold with a truly relevant and real-time connection.

‘Off-Air’ Engagement.

NBC’s live streaming coverage married with YouTube’s live halftime show acknowledge our multi-screen reality.  Beyond just hashtags, I expect more brands will deliver extended – if not special – experiences across various screens. I think we’ll see more digital experiences that give people things to do before, during and after the game (I just hope Bud Light gives us the chance to play Pac Man in the streets for real.)  On-air spots will be only one slice of Super Bowl brand interactions.  In fact, I think we could see non-“Super Bowl advertisers” launch content on other screens during the game.

A Kinder, Gentler (and hopefully more creative) Super Bowl.

From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like we may see a happier Super Bowl this year.   Whether it’s Coke taking on the negativity in social media, Budweiser building on the success of Puppy Love or McDonald’s launching their next Lovin’ execution – the work revealed to date shows signs of a more optimistic era. It’s work that seems to capitalize on the fact that this is an event that brings people together to share, be social and cheer.  

I’m also hopeful that we see even greater creativity this year.  As conversation starts earlier and earlier about what the Super Bowl spots are, there’s increasing pressure to dig deep for really creative, standout work.  

I’m excited about what newbies like Loctite will bring to the party. I’m interested to see how the auto brands who have decided to stick around will use their time to differentiate themselves. And given that celebrities are such a big part of Super Bowl culture, I’m hopeful we’ll see smarter integrations that really connect those personal brands, not just their name, to ideas.

Overall, I’m excited to see how things play out on Sunday. Yes, because I love the business I’m in; more because I’m a Seahawks fan; and even more because I’m a Seahawks fan who shares an office with a die-hard Patriot fan.  #12s #gohawks